The gender gap is a growing concern in higher education. Female students are performing higher than male students in regard to academic success, involvement in leadership and service-learning opportunities, and matriculation. In order to lessen this gap, it is necessary to first gain an understanding of why this gap exists through a conceptual lens examining topics such as student engagement, service-learning, hegemonic masculinity, and gender role conflict. This study explored the perspectives and experiences of the male students who choose to become involved in campus activities, the question of why male students choose to become involved in a campus activity pertaining to leadership and service, as well as the broader implications for professionals in the field of higher education looking at student engagement.
The SERV Team, SERV standing for Students Engaged in Responsible Volunteerism, is a student organization focused on promoting leadership and service-learning at a large, Midwestern Research 1 university. Six out of eleven male college students who were members of the SERV Team participated in semi-structured interviews in which they were asked to describe their perceptions and experiences of student involvement, priorities for male college students, and the gender gap in higher education. The interview participants were also asked to describe their concepts of masculinity, societal expectations for men and, in particular, the expectations for college men, as well as the consequences faced by men when contradicting those norms.
The interviewees shared their perceptions and provided rich examples that reinforced current literature on college men and masculinities. Findings from this study illustrated the pressure college men experience from peers, family, and society to exhibit the behaviors and character traits of the hegemonic male. This study recognized that the male students contradicting the norms of society by participating in campus activities did not fit the profile of the typical college male. Nevertheless, the interviewees provided recommendations for practitioners that not only reinforced current literature but also demonstrated how men’s issues can be addressed specifically at large, Midwestern Research 1 University.